1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hoses, and in particular to a sleeve for mounting over a female hose coupling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of hoses are commonly used for conveying fluids. For example, flexible hoses permit the conveyance of fluid to various locations. Hoses are often provided with end couplings which facilitate attachment to and detachment from fluid sources and various fluid-receiving devices.
A common type of hose comprises rubber or flexible plastic tubing with threaded male and female couplings at the ends. The female couplings of such hoses are designed to receive standard male-threaded hose bibs, which are typically provided on the exteriors of houses and other buildings. The female couplings of rubber and plastic hoses are attached to these hose bibs and their male couplings can be attached to sprinklers, sprayers, recreational devices, etc. In a typical exterior hose bib installation, the male threaded coupling is positioned within a few inches of an exterior wall and slants downwardly and outwardly therefrom.
A typical female hose coupling includes a rotatable nut threaded to receive a male-threaded hose bib coupling. Hose coupling nuts are often knurled or have wrench flats to facilitate threading them onto hose bib couplings.
A disadvantage of this arrangement is that the proximity of the hose bib coupling to the exterior wall provides very little working space for threading the hose coupling nut onto the hose bib coupling. Grasping the entire hose end coupling nut for coupling or uncoupling often leads to scraped knuckles, particularly if the exterior wall surface comprises a rough-textured material such as brick, stone, concrete or stucco. On the other hand, gripping the hose coupling nut between the thumb and forefinger is safer but applies less torque than using the entire hand. An effective, water-tight seal is difficult to achieve with the latter method. The aforementioned disadvantages of coupling a hose end and a hose bib by hand can be avoided by using pliers or a wrench, but obtaining and using a tool for each coupling and uncoupling procedure is inconvenient.
A second disadvantage with the aforementioned, prior art coupling system relates to the hose becoming crimped adjacent to its end whereby water no longer flows therethrough. If a flexible hose is pulled in a direction not aligned with the hose bib coupling, a crimp can occur. For example, with a typical hose bib having a downwardly and outwardly oriented coupling, crimping can occur if the hose is pulled in any other direction, e.g. horizontally away from the wall, straight down, etc.
The present invention addresses these disadvantages of a conventional hose coupling arrangement.